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Sep 14 2015

Eight things the Church could learn from Downton Abbey

Alrighty then! Our recent blog post “10 Ways the Church is Like Downton Abbey” got quite a lot of views. So, like our friends in Public Television, we decided to renew Downton Church for a second “season.” And the theme for season two is “Eight Lessons the Church Could Learn from Downton Abbey.”

Indeed, there much agreement in the comments we received that Downton Abbey – both the story and the production – was an excellent metaphor for the organized Church. Both are centuries-old institutions, both have a tendency toward aristocratic organization and behavior, both are steeped in tradition and stymied by traditionalism, both have a higher opinion of their own inherent holiness than their histories reveal. In other words, as institutions, both Downton Abbey and the Church are prone to similar mistakes.

Yet as the historical premise of Downton Abbey and the current cultural context of the Church (“in a world where everything is changing, an institution struggles for relevance…”) reveal, both institutions are capable – albeit reluctantly and imperfectly – of learning and change. So taking the metaphor a step further, what are some lessons that the Church can learn (or perhaps remember) from looking in the mirror of Downton Abbey.

Lesson #1 – Noblesse oblige (with nobility, obligation). One thing that the various members of the Crawley family learn again and again, each in different ways, is that with positions of social power and influence comes social obligations: an understanding of their responsibility for those whose lives and livelihoods depend upon them. Lord Robert always seems keenly aware of the house’s obligation to provide economic sustenance and social stability (maybe too much of the latter) to both those directly employed by the house, and those on the wider estate and in the village. Lady Cora seems more attentive – though in a somewhat naïve fashion – to the emotional lives of those who depend on them. Lady Mary, on the other hand, makes a transition from self-centered debutante to more of a socialite with a conscience, who understands that part of their responsibility to those around them is to remain relevant to their needs in a time when those needs are changing in big ways.

What might the Church learn? Despite the claim that churches are somehow under siege from the prevailing culture (at least in North America and western Europe), they still hold a privileged position. Whether as employers of lay professionals (educators, administrators, musicians, and a variety of others), or as shapers of public opinion and policy (as evidenced in the new-but-contested RIFRA laws in Indiana), they influence people well beyond who shows up in any given congregation on Sundays. That influence shapes public perception of the Church –for good or ill. Churches might be better attuned to how their actions affect those with whom they have little if any contact.

Lesson #2 – Willingness to change. Speaking of change, another thing the members of the Crawley household all seem to learn – albeit reluctantly – is that change (sometimes profound change) is often a necessity. And they display willingness (if under duress) to listen to and act on (if sometimes fumblingly) voices other than their own about better ways forward. Indeed, one by one each of the family members seem to learn the painful lesson that the world doesn’t revolve around their comfortable traditions, and that awareness of the changing needs of the world around them often requires them to adapt – not just by adding electricity, telephones, radios, and other new-fangled technology, or sporting new fashions at social occasions, but by making deeper changes and finding new reasons for being.

What might the Church learn? That “modernizing” is more than trying to be “trendy” or “relevant” to a particular generation – right now, the millennials. Concentrating on new music that sounds more like what young people hear on the radio, or being more “cool” in the language used in preaching, or using “contemporary” forms of worship isn’t enough – worse than not enough, in some cases it may actually be harmful: like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, when we really need to be getting people into lifeboats. This is not a new problem. Every generation in From the very beginning, every generation in Church has faced the challenge of translating the Gospel for a new generation. The problem arises when, instead of offering the new generation a true translation in words they understand, we instead sugarcoat it with passing cultural affections in order to make it easier to swallow. True modernizing means discovering what are the public perceptions and beliefs about the faith are and addressing them honestly and directly, without compromising the core of Christian faith or cheapening the tough demands that being a follower of Jesus entails. It isn’t easy or quick, the way changing up the music or adding projection screens might be.

Lesson #3 – A Sense of Family. At Downton, the servants are more than simply support staff to the family and the house. By and large, there is a palpable sense of family between the upstairs Crawleys and the downstairs servants: a feeling of connection and interrelatedness. And while the relationship is not always pleasant – or healthy, for that matter – it is deep and strong… How else could a character like Thomas survive for all these seasons? And how else could the Dowager and Isobell become such a mutually (and lovingly) irritating odd couple.

What might the Church learn? William Temple is frequently misquoted as saying that “the church is the only institution that exists primarily for those outside it” (click here to read what he actually said), how Christians behave toward other Christians is important. When the Church treats its loyal members badly – especially when longtime, committed lay people are treated badly – it does more than encourage those individuals to leave. It undermines the public perception of the Church as a benevolent institution. Because when church is important to people, they share all the reasons why. But when church loses its luster, people share those reasons, too.

Lesson #4 –Willingness to “bend the rules” in order to “do the right thing.” There is a ongoing tension at Downton Abbey between the need to respect the rules (or follow tradition, which is harder) societally and the need to do what is right in individual cases. And example of this was the case of Mrs. Patmore’s dead nephew, Archie, and his exclusion from the war memorial, which Lord Grantham resolved by erecting a special memorial to honor Archie’s sacrifice. This goes to the heart of the tension in the church between tradition (honoring things that have been tested by time) and traditionalism (worshipping tradition for its own sake), which the Church has had to learn century after century.

What might the Church learn? First, we might learn that some rules just shouldn’t exist in at all. Second, we might learn that service doesn’t have to be perfect to be sincere and devoted, and that the people who render service also don’t have to be perfect, either. Finally, we might learn that we will garner more loyalty by finding ways to show appreciation than we will by finding ways to withhold it.

Lesson #5 – Willingness to find humane ways to outplace members of the downstairs household when continued relationship becomes untenable. Time and again, the Crawley family finds ways to part ways with servants who have become too difficult or embarrassing to endure. On the plus side, they realize that in an “incestuous” institution like the aristocracy one has to take great care in the way that people are let go, since termination without reference is tantamount to a sentence of lifelong poverty or worse (in the case of pregnant Ivy), and even laying off a person due to the elimination of a specialized position (in the case of Mosley) may render an otherwise loyal and competent former employee without honorable work. They have learned from painful experience not to throw anybody “under the bus.”

What might the Church learn? Don’t throw people under the bus. See Lessons #1 and #3. ‘Nuff said.

Lesson #6 – Willingness to find ways to support and applaud the personal and professional goals and ambitions members of the downstairs household. An ongoing trope throughout the seasons of Downton is the ambitions of the downstairs household. We have seen housemaids become secretaries, footmen become chefs, kitchen maids become assistant cooks and aspiring farm owners, butlers and housekeepers become real estate entrepreneurs, and chauffeurs become family members and estate stewards. Lady Sybil helped Gwen get a job as a secretary; the entire household has been supportive of Daisy’s attempt to further her education (even if the family didn’t much care for Miss Bunting, her teacher). Alfred’s acceptance to culinary school was a triumph and a point of pride for upstairs and downstairs, and he went to London with everyone’s best wishes. Tragically, William Mason’s aspirations to serve his country did not turn out well, but the household honored his service.

What might the Church learn? Keeping people “in their place” might be beneficial to the institution – but only in the short term. Downton Abbey benefited from Tom Branson’s transition from chauffeur to estate steward (and beloved family member). Arguably, difficult as it was for the family to adjust, without Branson’s acumen and skill, the family might have fallen into financial ruin. The Church might find it difficult to believe that lay people could have skills the Church either doesn’t recognize or didn’t confer, or that some might have more theological learning than the majority of priests and bishops. Nonetheless, without the laity, the Church will fall into ruin. A little permeability between the ranks might be a good thing for all concerned.

Lesson #7 – Keeping secrets is a tricky business. Of course, there are secrets and “secrets.” Any relationship – whether family, friends, or business – has a certain degree of confidentiality that must be respected. Trust depends on that. Most of the Downton characters, but especially servants especially, have a degree of knowledge about other characters which could be devastating if it were more widely known. Anna (nee Smith, now Bates) kept housemaid Gwen’s aspirations to a secretarial career to herself once she knew them – and skillfully made the distinction between “private” and “secret” when questioned by Mr. Carson. Anna also has kept the much more sinister secret of the Turkish Ambassador’s (Mr. Pamuk) death in the supposedly-virgin Lady Mary’s bed, and not used it as a bargaining chit for her own advantage. Former-footman, now under-butler Thomas has threatened to do so, however, although his previously-secret (and then illegal) homosexuality would have come to light to his disadvantage. (That was handled interesting by Lord Robert when questioned about Thomas’s behavior.) Thomas kept the secret of how Lady Cora lost her unborn child…until it was advantageous to share it with his erstwhile enemy Mr. Bates.

What might the Church learn? In any community setting, people are going to know things about each other. Not everybody will know everything about everyone else, and that is fine. But we need to learn discretion and kindness in how we deal with confidences. That goes not only for laity, but clergy as well – there may be a bit of a stereotype of “church gossips” like that of Dana Carvey’s SNL “Church Lady” character, but ordained people equally can be the soul of indiscretion.

Don’t remember the Church Lady? Click here to refresh your memory.

Lesson #8 – Awareness of the world outside our walls. Downton Abbey (whether we are talking about the characters, story line, or production) seems to understand that there is a world beyond their walls, that to some is equally if not more compelling and attractive – and may be compelling and attractive to those within the walls (Alfred the footman who wanted to be a chef, assistant cook Daisy wanting to learn to run a farm, Lady Sybil training for nursing and marrying Tom Branson). And there is an acceptance (sometimes grudging, but pragmatic) and even encouragement (when there is manifestly no choice) to go explore that world.

What might the Church learn? The Church needs to understand that very few people – and probably a vanishingly small number of people under age 60 – believe any more that there is “no salvation outside the Church.” The Church may be a formative community, and a locus of spiritual and moral learning, but not the site of many peoples’ highest aspirations, as it might have been hundreds of years ago. The Church may need to think of itself as a starting place for peoples’ spiritual and moral journeys, but not necessarily the entire road they will travel.

That’s all we have to say for now, though we are certain we have not wrung the Downton Abbey metaphor completely dry. Will there be “Season 3” of Downton Church? That all depends on how much feedback we get from you…

In the meantime, if you’d like a more musical and satirical take on Downton Abbey, click here.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO7t7fRk4IU]

Sep 07 2015

Ten ways the Church is like Downton Abbey

By Ken Howard & Wendy Dackson

[Simulblogged on FaithX and Past Christian]

It all started a few days ago, when Ken came across an Episcopal Church Meme on Facebook and reposted on his own Facebook page with a comment about how it reminded him of Downton Abbey (and not exactly in a good way). The meme in question, displayed below, showed the Presiding Bishop, along with several other resplendently attired clergy and lay people lined in the National Cathedral nave, with the slogan “Ancient Tradition. Modern Outlook. That’s the Episcopal Church.”

Much to Ken’s surprise, his snarky yet somber comment – that the Church should more than simply the “thoughtful theatre” of Downton Abbey – touched of hours of free association – between Ken, Wendy, and friends – about the many and varied ways in which Downton Abbey could serve as a metaphor for the Church generally, and the Episcopal Church specifically. [scroll to the bottom for Ken’s original comment]

By the time all was said and done, there was enough material for a blog post on the subject. What follows are the several of the ways the Church is like Downton Abbey, the fictional castle, and Downton Abbey, the show.

Way #1
Both are institutions caught between the future and the past, uncertain of their relevance in the present. Downton Abbey is a beautiful mansion, balancing ancient splendor with modern conveniences, but its occupants are not entirely certain what they stand for amidst the changes and chance of the world – something old, something new, something borrowed, something…missing – with some of its inhabitants trying to find relevance by fitting into a much-fantasized future and other trying desperately to hang on to an over-idealized past. Sort of like the Church, right?

Way #2
Both are overly focused on caste, class, and rank. At both Downton Abbey and in the Church there is a definite caste system at work, and within each caste, a fiercely protected hierarchy. In Downton, there is the division between the aristocracy and the servants/villagers, and it is especially in the “common” class, the majority, where rank is most obviously important – it’s very important to be an assistant cook rather than a kitchen maid, or to be acknowledged as first In the Church, the caste system is most obviously seen in, but is not limited to, the clergy-lay divide). On the clergy side of the divide, the three ordained orders have morphed from three equally valued vocations into a hierarchical ladder in which too many are reaching for the next rung. And on the lay side, rank is too often reflected in who gets asked to be senior warden, who is “admitted” to the Altar Guild, who gets elected to General Convention, etc.

Way #3
Both are unreflectively obsessed with the preservation of the status quo. At Downton Abbey, when the Crawley family fortunes are on the decline, the question is not “how do we deal with changing circumstances?” but “how do we keep things going as they have been?” Meanwhile, the Church is still hanging on to the need to make things look like they did immediately after the Second World War: married with children, and the centerpiece of people’s social lives. This leads on to….

Way #4
Both are pretending to be in a time and place other than those in which they actually exist. Highclere Castle, the house that is the real star of Downton Abbey, is in post-modern Hampshire, far south and a century later than the Crawley estate in post-Edwardian Yorkshire, yet serves as a setting for acting out social conventions and attitudes from a bygone era. The Church – including and often particularly our own Episcopal Church, has a tendency to behave as though it is much more deeply anchored in the past than it currently is, preferring to imagine that is rooted in Victorian or medieval England, or better yet the early Christian era, while most of its current controversies are rooted firmly in the Modernism of the so-called Enlightenment and much of its current attitudes are grounded in the 1950s.

Way #5
Both are closed systems, suspicious of “outsiders.” Downton Abbey is, to a large extent, a closed system. Not only is it exceptionally difficult to cross from one caste to another within the house (Tom Branson being the prime example, having been a chauffeur and marrying one of the Crawley daughters), but it is even more difficult to come in as an outsider. Sometimes, this suspicion and hostility has worked to the benefit of the household: one can name Sir Richard Carlisle, Lady Mary’s wealthy-but-nasty beau prior to her marriage to Matthew Crawley. Matthew, the distant heir to the title and estate, along with his mother Isobel, did not exactly receive an enthusiastic welcome to the family, either. But at least Carlisle and Matthew had some claim (either wealth and social rank or blood) to entering the system. More recently, Miss Sarah Bunting, a teacher who again crosses lines of rank (by tutoring assistant cook Daisy, and having a bit of romantic possibility with Tom Branson), finds it impossible to be an acceptable dinner guest at the Abbey. Likewise, churches often promote themselves as “welcoming”, but function as closed systems where newcomers have a difficult time finding an acceptable role. Which leads to…

Way #6
Both regularly rely on a system of assimilation rather than welcome. In Downton, the Crawley family ultimately learns to love and accept Tom Branson, and even to rely on his considerable gifts and talents but only after they seduce him into assimilating into their customs, manners, dress, and other affectations. Ultimately, he begins to wonder who he really is and what he has become: almost an aristocrat but still suffering from a kind of imposter’s syndrome, uncertain about the “price” of his acceptance. Churches often make the same error in their newcomer incorporation efforts, mistaking assimilation for welcome. And in almost every denomination, the Church’s systems for discerning and training clergy tend to act as an over-active immune system, weeding out any leadership that would challenge the status quo.

Way #7
Both have a tendency, if not careful, to reduce people to their roles. In Downton, Sir Robert often reduces Cora to her role as his wife, being unable to remember that she is (a) an attractive woman (evidenced in the suspicion of her adultery with the art expert), and (b) having interests (such as her knowledge of art and music) apart from the Abbey and the family. In Church, this is often seen in our overreliance on clergy for pastoral care and an under-reliance on lay people. Wendy recently experienced this with a Facebook friend – an Episcopal priest – who on learning she had sustained a broken wrist, asked (on Facebook) if she wanted a visit “from my parish priest,” when what she would really rather have was a visit from a friend. (She didn’t get the visit.)

Way #8
Both often engage in secret keeping and triangulation in defense of honor. This is almost a weekly trope on Downton, with almost every character hiding a secret from at least one other character, often from the world at large, often as an “open secret,” enough to provide “plausible deniability” of the ”elephant in the room,” and generally with the aim of defending the family’s honour. The issue is never about preventing wrongdoing (or doing the right thing to begin with) but rather to prevent scandal. Better to send the person who “caused” the embarrassment away than to confront the underlying issues. In the Church, one need not look farther than most denomination’s disciplinary procedures to find evidence of this dynamic. From pedophile priests to drunk-driving bishops, the system is concerned less with supporting healthy behavior than it is with punishing bad behavior, and less with catching and rectifying bad behavior early than with ridding itself of those who manage to get themselves caught. Which is kind of related to…

Way #9
Both often resort to scapegoating. In Downton, the plot lines tend to either kill off or run off anyone who might make a positive bridge between old and new, or give a critical view of the status quo. Think hard about Lady Sybil, Matthew Crawley, Tom Branson… and then think of what church does when someone wants to bridge divides. As Ken once said, “If you want to be a bridge, be prepared to be stepped from both sides. And finally…

Way #10
Both are metaphors of poor stewardship of real estate. The one thing that becomes immediately clear about Downton Abbey is that most of its living space is unlived in most of the time. One of the reasons they need so many maids is to keep the dust from settling on all the furniture in the unused rooms. If those rooms were being used more frequently, they would not need to be dusted so frequently, because in a well-used home, the activity of the occupants make dusting almost unnecessary. And what’s more, judging by their obvious relief when the injured soldiers are relocated at the end of the “Great” War, it’s clear the Crawley’s would like to keep it that way. Most churches are similarly poor stewards of their “living space.” A few services on Sunday, maybe another on Saturday evening, a few meetings during the week… That adds up to a lot of empty space. And even those who rent out their space do so more out of financial need than out of an earnest desire to put their buildings to their highest use.

Got some examples you’d like to add? We’d love to hear from you…

Coming soon: “What the Church Could Learn from Dowton Abbey” (Spoiler alert: The list is shorter)

Ken’s original snarky Facebook comment:

This recently posted Episcopal Church Meme just doesn’t do it for me. It seems to be proclaiming that the Episcopal Church is sorta like Downton Abbey: a beautiful mansion, balancing ancient splendor with modern conveniences, but with occupants not not 100% certain what they stand for amidst the changes and chance of the world. Something old, something new, something borrowed, something…missing… A two-legged stool: Tradition and Reason, minus Scripture.

I mean, I loves me some Downton Abbey but the Episcopal Church I joined is more than thoughtful theatre. We have a core of theology solidly ground in Scripture. Obscuring our engagement with Scripture doesn’t make us more attractive. Rather it makes us seem…empty.

May 21 2015

The Good News according to Pew

By the Rev. Ken Howard

Earlier this month the Pew Forum published its anxiously awaited research report, America’s Changing Religious Landscape, a survey of how religious affiliation and demographics have changed between 2007 and 2014. The biggest news in the report: the dramatic drop in the percentage of the U.S. population who claim Christianity as their religion of choice, and the corresponding rise in the number of “Nones” (as in “none of the above religions”).

Some of my friends say this is further proof that the Church is dying. Some of my friends argue just as vehemently that while some churches may be in their death throes, the Church will be just fine. Me? I agree with my friends… Of course the Church is dying. And of course the Church will ultimately be just fine. “Behold,” Jesus said, “the old is passing away… I am making all things new.” The Church has always been dying and so it can be reborn.

So I’m not being a Pollyanna when I say that, while the Pew report may be bad news for religion, it’s Good News for faith, Good News for Christianity, too, and maybe even Good News for my own Episcopal Church, if we have eyes to see it.

So what do I see as the “Good News according to Pew?”

People are not operating on default anymore when it comes to faith. The Pew report tells us that an increasing number of people are actually thinking about religion and faith, which is leading them to make choices about it, rather than operating on autopilot. That an increasing number of people are choosing to leave Christianity is unavoidable: a natural sorting out that occurs when people decide to act out of conviction rather than habit. It means that the people who stay are more likely do so out of conviction rather than habit. Watching people leave may be sad, but it’s not bad, if they are leaving because they don’t want to continue faking it, because if they ever decide to return, it will be out of choice not inertia.

Faith is becoming more important than religion. Of the religiously unaffiliated, only about a third are rejecting both organized religion and faith in God. Another third is averse to religion but still consider themselves people of faith. And still another third rejects religion but doesn’t give much thought to faith. The reasons people give for renouncing religious affiliation are many and varied: hypocrisy, judgmental attitudes, rigid systems of belief or practice, a focus on defining who’s “in” or “out,” and more. These are criticisms of the human organization of religion, not of faith in God.

Christianity is, at its heart, a faith movement, not a religion. Jesus never asked his disciples to go out and start a new religion. The Apostle Paul thought religion was irrelevant. Richard Hooker, one of the founders of the Anglican/Episcopal tradition once said that what makes a person Christian is faith in Christ, and that doctrine and practices are secondary: our ways working out our faith in our lives. I believe that if we are willing put relationship with God above our ideas about doctrine and practice, the unaffiliated – and many others – may find us more inviting.

Christianity, at its heart, transcends culture. To paraphrase Jesus, we are meant to be in the culture but not of the culture. For more than 1½ millennia, ever since its intimate entanglement with the Roman Empire, Christianity has struggled to wean itself from its addiction to being one with the dominant culture. One positive implication of the Pew Reprt is that if we continue to disentangling ourselves from culture, we will not only become more inviting to the unaffiliated, but will make it more likely that people who do affiliate with us will do so out of faith, rather than popularity or power.

Both liberal and conservative denominations are declining. Another positive contribution the Pew Report makes may be to finally lay to rest the narrative that conservative Christianity is growing numerically, and therefore true, while liberal Christianity is in numerical decline, and therefore false (as if increasing popularity was ever the ultimate test of truth). I have long suspected that if an apples-to-apples count were made (i.e., numbers were adjusted for the differences in how most conservative and most mainline denominations count members), conservative denominations would have been showing a decline for some time now. Pew’s numbers for the first time are showing this to be both true and especially pronounced among younger people, with some leaving conservative congregations because they perceive them as rigid and judgmental, some leaving liberal congregations because they perceive them to be mushy and laissez-faire, and some departing Christianity altogether because they perceive all the infighting between liberal and conservative Christians to be un-Christian. Now that Pew has knocked down the “only conservative churches grow” shibboleth, perhaps we can all get on with living and sharing the Gospel.

Christianity is becoming more diverse. Martin Luther King, Jr. once Sunday morning worship, “the most segregated hour of Christian America.” A final bit of good news from the Pew Report is this: over the last seven years Christianity has grown more diverse, from 29% non-white in 2007 to 34% in 2014 – not a huge shift, but a significant one – across almost every denomination save Mormon. This may be yet another sign of Christianity moving away from being for many a casual way of identifying with the dominant culture and the benefits conferred by being so identified.

Might the Episcopal Church benefit from these trends? Maybe…but don’t get cocky. Some of my friends have suggested that the Episcopal Church may be uniquely poised to a take advantage of these trends.[1] They point to many high-profile Evangelicals who have left their denominations found themselves drawn to the liturgical depth, sacramental celebration, and appreciation of divine mystery and paradox they have found there. In this, too, I agree with my friends. It is, after all, my own story: a Jewish person who was brought into the Church by an Evangelical, Pentecostal friend, yet found my true home in the Anglican/Episcopal tradition (the most Jewish church I could find). Still, I would caution my friends not to get cocky. Most of my Evangelical friends departed from their denominations as the result of a long, thoughtful, prayerful process of discernment that revealed to them that their own traditions were missing something: something they found in our tradition. But we must remember that there are people leaving our tradition because we sometimes confuse tolerance with changing the subject when anyone asks what truths we believe in. So before we start thinking of ourselves as “all that and a bag of chips,” we might also benefit from the same kind of self-critical examination that has sent some of our Evangelical brothers and sisters in our direction.

Some have proclaimed that the Pew Report presages “the end of casual Christianity.”[2] I hope they’re right. Because that would be very good news!

[1] Allisa Newton. (2015). “Why that Pew Report is great news for the Church,” in The Bishop’s Staff Blog – Episcopal Diocese of Olympia website at http://www.ecww.org/blogs/653/why-pew-report-great-news-church.

[2] Michael Gershon. (2015). “The end of casual Christianity,” in The Washington Post (May 26, 2015) at http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-end-of-casual-christianity/2015/05/25/75e6b06c-009f-11e5-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html

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